Here are two that I read this summer that were enlightening and enjoyable.
Making Money by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Stephen Briggs, is one of the Industrial Revolution books in his Discworld series. Moist von Lipwig, first introduced in Going Postal, is tasked with running the Bank of Ankh Morpork. This is great fun and a wonderful look at finance, money, credit, and economics in general, but mostly it is about people. After reading this, you will never look at potatoes the same way again.
False Value by Ben Aaronovitch, narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is book 8 in the Rivers of London series and wraps up many plots but opens some and leaves open others. I hope this series continues. If you like Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams or paranormal police procedurals you might like this series. This book goes into the world of the high finance of high tech and is one of the best in the series, but start at the beginning with Midnight Riot to understand all of the relationships.
The Founding Fathers: A Very Short Introduction by R.B. Bernstein. Bernstein was a scholar who studied the Revolutionary era of our country.
Here is a short blurb about the book: The Founding Fathers is a concise, accessible overview of the brilliant, flawed, and quarrelsome group of lawyers, politicians, merchants, military men, and clergy known as âthe Founding Fathersââwho got as close to the ideal of the Platonic âphilosopher-kingsâ as American or world history has ever seen.
R. B. Bernstein reveals Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, and the other founders not as shining demigods but as imperfect human beingsâpeople much like usâwho nevertheless achieved political greatness.
Iâm reading Jeffersonâs Daughters: Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America by Catherine Kerrison. I might add unlikeable to that description.
I recently finished âThe World: A Family History of Humanity,â by Simon Sebag Montefiore. I got the hardcover book from the library but it is over 1,300 pages long and weighs so much itâs hard to handle so I recommend getting it as a Kindle edition.
The book describes the intimate family relationships (including incest and murder) along with the large-scale historical events of civilizations around the world. Female as well as male movers and shakers are described. I found it enlightening, horrifying and fascinating. Many of the powerful came to a nasty end.
One of my favorite characters (who lived a long, honorable life overlapping several Chinese emperors) was a woman royal librarian. I would love to see a TV series about her lifetime since the political events around her were tumultuous.
Like the big picture and long view? This is the book.
I just bought the book through Audible. I figure Iâll listen to an hour or so a day and finish sometime before the new year. Thanks for bring it to our attention.
Iâm currently reading this light hearted book from Alexander McCall Smith (of #1 Ladiesâ Detective Agency fame)âŚ
âŚand this excerpt from one of the stories has piqued my interest as a quasi historical/slightly fictional account of Donald McCleanâs diplomatic career. Heâs one of the Cambridge Five spy ringâŚa bunch of privileged chaps recruited by the Soviet Union during their time up at Cambridge in the years before the outbreak of WWII.
The authorâs preface to these stories includes a bibliography that the tales are based upon and the one on McClean is next on my âgetâ listâŚA Spy Named Orphan. I didnât realise just how significant this shower were in providing Soviet intelligence with British and American information during the Cold War years.
My wife and I have loved his books over the years. We read them all, and now have to read this one too!
(At first I was shocked at how well a man wrote from the female perspective, I think for the first 4 or 5 books of the [ladies detective] series, I believed it was a woman using a male pseudonym.)
This doesnât count as a recent read since I read it close to its original publishing date in 2002. However, I mentioned it on this forum on April 4, 2011 and it would appear it is worthy of mentioning again.
I highly recommend the book This Fiery Trial, a collection of all of the public speeches and private letters of Abraham Lincoln, edited by William Gienapp. Gienappâs editing doesnât alter the content of Lincolnâs prose. Instead, he explains the context around each item in terms of the mindset of the country and Lincoln at the time, other events Lincoln was referencing that would go unnoticed by modern readers and how Lincoln identified the rhetorical needle he needed to thread to make his point while staying on course on a much longer journey.
This constant push and pull between being pure and right in every circumstance (at the risk of triggering conflict that could derail a larger gameplan) and being tactical was reflected in a quote in the movie Lincoln a few years back. A scene in the movie depicts Lincoln making this comment: A compass will point you to true north, but it has no advice about the swamps and deserts and chasms that youâll encounter along the way. If in pursuit of your destination you plunge ahead, heedless of obstacles, and achieve nothing more than to sink in a swamp, whatâs the use of knowing true north?â
With Gienappâs background and analysis, This Fiery Trial brilliantly explains how much intellect Lincoln applied to nearly every word he communicated as he rose in public life and led his fellow citizens through a moral, ethical and logical disaster of their own making as they were forced to deal with the countryâs âoriginal sinâ of slavery.
As an admirer of Lincoln, I canât believe I missed this book. Thanks for mentioning it again. Just purchased it.
One of my favorite books about Lincoln (I have a few) is Face of Lincoln by James Mellon, which contains every known photo of Lincoln (IIRC) along with many of his writings.
More detectives, Iâm afraidâŚthis series written by an actual women, Susan Elia MacNeal. An element of fairly recent historical fiction for reasonably easy fact checking. Best known for her Maggie Hope seriesâŚfirst one (and my intro) Mr Churchillâs Secretary.
A little insight into behind the scene machinations in the run up to and early years of WWII. HmmmâŚit had me recalling my dadâs words about how potentially powerful the German-influenced (the nanny filter work around) party was in England at the time âŚone of the excuses for their spying of the Cambridge Five I mentioned upstream.
Looks like this will focus on the US. Mother, Daughter, Traitor, SpyâŚ
The book Master and Commander by Patrick OâBrian, which I just reread after a 50 year hiatus. It was even even better, and far deeper, than I remembered from my first reading***
The two main characters are brilliantly crafted and portrayed, and one â Captain Aubrey â mostly represents prime virtues of the 18th C and earlier, while the other â Shipâs Surgeon/Scientist/Spy, Stephen Maturin â mostly represents the fruits and curses of the age of Enlightenment and later. They bond over their mutual love of music and hated of Bonaparte for utterly different reasonsâŚ.
Read it, and go ahead and try to resist reading the next in the series of novels, but you will fail and likely read the whole lot to your betterment and education.
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***I was a freshman in college, and my father was afraid I was frying my brain out with math, physics, and politics and gave it to me, knowing I would find it utterly irresistable. He also admonished me to keep my grades impeccableâŚ. he loved me.
I read M&C and watched the movie. I liked the music in the movie more than the story.
But one of my favorite YA series is set during the Napoleonic Wars and after. L. A. Meyerâs 12 book saga of Mary âJackyâ Faber is wonderful. Bloody Jack is the first book and sets up the story of an orphaned girl living on the streets of London who takes the chance to be a shipsâ boy in the Royal Navy. I highly recommend listening to the late great Katherine Kellgrenâs audiobooks of these. Her performance of hundreds of characters from countries around the world in both words and song is astounding. It is really impressive that Meyer is able to work in so much of the early 19th century macroeconomics, political, and social structures into the books and make it engaging and understandable to his YA audience.
I read it last weekend and enjoyed it very much. Thereâs a second book with the same protagonist called The Second-Worst Restaurant in France. I will read that one as well at some point.
